Het handhaven van uw IP Portefeuille

Door Maarten Roos 

Om de exclusieve rechten op IP te handhaven, moet een organisatie de mechanismen op zijn plaats hebben om voortdurende bescherming te waarborgen.

Eerst en vooral, moet iemand ervoor zorgen dat de geregistreerde IP rechten hun geldigheid handhaven. De handelsmerken worden geregistreerd 10 jaar tegelijkertijd, dus zou de registratie vóór het einde van zulk een geldigheidsperiode moeten worden uitgebreid. Het nalaten zal dit te doen in het verlies van alle exclusieve rechten op het handelsmerk resulteren. De namen van het domein zijn goedkoop en gemakkelijk te registreren, maar een onderhoudsprijs moet worden betaald. De verleende octrooien en de ontwerpen zullen een nietverlengbare geldigheid van 10 jaar (voor ontwerp en nutsmodeloctrooien) of 20 jaar (voor uitvinding) van de het indienen datum hebben, maar een annuïteit moet elk jaar worden betaald om voortdurende geldigheid te verzekeren. Lees de rest van „Bescherming versus Handhaving: Waar te om uw IPR van China Strategie te beginnen? Deel II“ of post een commentaar

Door Maarten Roos

De voortdurende doordringendheid van het vervalsen in China is niet alleen een probleem van wet, maar ook één van handhaving. While China’s laws and regulations conform to the agreement on trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS) and other widely accepted international principles, certain parts of China’s protection mechanism have proven ineffective. Common examples are the high standards for criminal liability of counterfeiters, the high burden of evidence to prove bad faith registrations, and the difficulty to prove damages in civil proceedings. On the other hand, it is abundantly clear that the police, administrative authorities and courts often lack the resources, the knowledge or the determination to effectively combat infringements.

China’s own continuing development, and to a lesser extent international pressure, will gradually lead to improvements on the above issues, but this is not a process individual intellectual property (IP) owners can influence. Read the rest of “Protection vs. Enforcement: Where to start your China IPR Strategy? Part I” or post a comment

The challenges ahead

By Nick Debnam & George Svinos, KPMG

Luxury retailing in China clearly presents tremendous opportunities, but also risks and challenges. In addition to heightening competition as is common among emerging markets, the most significant and relevant of challenges for luxury brands concern Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) regulations, the time frame for a return on investment, low luxury brand awareness, booming Chinese tourism and limited retail infrastructure.

• IPR regulations

According to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing the piracy rate in China remains one of the highest in the world and, on average, 20 percent of consumer products are counterfeit. Even domestic companies are troubled by piracy, with a recent study by the Ministry of Information Industry finding that 37 percent of Chinese companies suffered from such problems. Read the rest of “Luxury Brands in China: Part IV” or post a comment

Part I: Luxury brands and the retail sector in China

By Nick Debnam & George Svinos, KPMG

Foreign companies share a growing interest in tapping into China’s luxury market. Statistics show not only that the number of wealthy people is growing fast in China, but that their willingness to spend on big-ticket items is also on the rise, driven by an appetite for status as well as the comforts and trappings of luxury products.

China’s economy grew 10.3 percent in the first quarter of 2006 from the year earlier, overtaking the United Kingdom to become the world’s fourth largest economy. According to a preliminary estimation by the National Bureau of Statistics in China, the GDP of China in the first half of 2006 was RMB 9.144 trillion, a year-on-year increase of 10.9 percent. Total retail sales of consumer goods for the first half of 2006 also experienced significant growth, reaching RMB 3.644 trillion, a year-on-year rise of 13.3 percent. Overall, China’s retail sales have been rising at their fastest pace as increasing incomes spur spending on cars, furniture and electronics.(4) Read the rest of “Luxury Brands in China” or post a comment

By Dylan Blankenship

“Private label products or services are typically those manufactured or provided by one company for offer under another company’s brand.” –Wikipedia. This is the name of the game for China and for the most part, the products you buy here in the United States are not really manufactured by the name on the label. In some instances most of the big box or clothing stores you frequent have an inventory almost entirely made up of their own products under their own brand or multiple unaffiliated brands. This is not just a game for the big boys, this can be accomplished with the same everyday products under your own company’s label. Welcome to the club, we are about to pull back the curtain to reveal what you need to know in developing your own private labeled line of products.

Take notice that every manufacturer has its own guidelines, requirements and procedures for producing a private label product. Not all manufacturers offer this service or have the capability to laser-etch/carve logos etc. The first step is to source the product you like and then follow-up with the manufacturer opening a dialog about private label opportunities.

Read the rest of “Private Labeling & Criteria for Selecting the Right Manufacturer” or post a comment